the book
Coming in November 2019 from Simon & Schuster
From beloved CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and humorist Mo Rocca, an entertaining and rigorously researched book that celebrates the dead people who have long fascinated him.
Mo Rocca has always loved obituaries—reading about the remarkable lives of global leaders, Hollywood heavyweights, and innovators who changed the world. But not every notable life has gotten the send-off it deserves. His quest to right that wrong inspired Mobituaries, his #1 hit podcast. Now with Mobituaries, the book, he has gone much further, with all new essays on artists, entertainers, sports stars, political pioneers, founding fathers, and more. Even if you know the names, you’ve never understood why they matter . . . until now.
Take Herbert Hoover: before he was president, he was the “Great Humanitarian,” the man who saved tens of millions from starvation. But after less than a year in the White House, the stock market crashed, and all the good he had done seemed to be forgotten. Then there’s Marlene Dietrich, well remembered as a screen goddess, less remembered as a great patriot. Alongside American servicemen on the front lines during World War II, she risked her life to help defeat the Nazis of her native Germany. And what about Billy Carter and history’s unruly presidential brothers? Were they ne’er-do-well liabilities . . .or secret weapons? Plus, Mobits for dead sports teams, dead countries, the dearly departed station wagon, and dragons. Yes, dragons.
Rocca is an expert researcher and storyteller. He draws on these skills here. With his dogged reporting and trademark wit, Rocca brings these men and women back to life like no one else can. Mobituaries is an insightful and unconventional account of the people who made life worth living for the rest of us, one that asks us to think about who gets remembered, and why.
Mo Rocca is a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning, host of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation,and host and creator of the Cooking Channel’s My Grandmother’s Ravioli, in which he learned to cookfrom grandmothers and grandfathers across the country.He’s also a frequent panelist on NPR’s hit weeklyquiz show Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! Rocca spentfour seasons as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He began hiscareer in TV as a writer and producer for the EmmyandPeabody Award–winning PBS children’s series Wishbone. As an actor, Mo starred on Broadway in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Rocca isthe author of All the Presidents’ Pets, a historical novelabout White House pets and their role in presidentialdecision-making.
Jonathan Greenberg is a professor of English at Montclair State University and an Emmy Award– winning children’s television writer. His screenwriting credits include the series Rugrats, Arthur, and Hey Arnold!, and the feature film, Recess: School’s Out. He has written two scholarly books, including, most recently, The Cambridge Introduction to Satire from Cambridge University Press.
the Mobituaries book tour
Click here for more information on Mo Rocca’s national book tour.
Mobituaries is out now
You can purchase the book now on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, or at your favorite independent bookstore. The audiobook is now available on Audible, the Google Play store, and Apple Books. Listen to an excerpt from the audiobook now.